Multiple Pregnancy After IVF - How To Handle It?

Giving birth to a baby is a blessing for a woman, but not all women are blessed. Some couples, even after trying for years, will not be able to conceive. For all those couples, there are a number of solutions available. One of the most preferred options these days is IVF or In Vitro Fertilization. With the help of this process, the egg and the sperm are combined outside the body of both male and female. This entire process is done in a laboratory by experts.

If you are opting for IVF treatment, then you should understand that the chances of twins or multiple pregnancy is really high. In many studies, it has been found that out of six IVF cases, one of them resulted in twins or multiple pregnancy.

Changes of multiple pregnancy:
Usually, there are two kinds of twins, identical twins that are produced from one single egg and non-identical twins formed from two different eggs. The number of non-identical twins depends on the number of embryos transferred to the mother’s womb. The chances of twins are high when more than 2 embryos are transferred. Usually, for a woman who is under the age of 40, 2 embryos are transferred and for a woman over 40 years, 3 embryos are transferred. So, in either case, chances of twins are still present.

Does IVF increase the chance of twins or multiple pregnancy?
Even when a single embryo is transferred to the mother’s womb, the egg may split into two and form two babies. So, whatever is the number of embryos transferred, IVF increases the chances of multiple pregnancy.

How can multiple pregnancy be avoided after IVF?
Multiple pregnancy can be a risk to both baby and mother.

• The mother may have a miscarriage due to multiple pregnancy and that could be a late miscarriage.
• There are high chances of a stillbirth and that can be dangerous for the mother as well.
• Increase in blood pressure due to multiple pregnancy is reported in many cases.
• Even if the child is born, there are chances of an unhealthy baby or a baby with a disability.

In order to avoid all these, it is very important to take care during the IVF treatment. It has been suggested that only one embryo be placed in the mother’s womb to avoid multiple pregnancy. This may not completely prevent the occurrence of twins, as the egg can split into two and produce two babies, but it will definitely reduce the risk of multiple babies to a great extent. Multiple pregnancy is possible, even in natural pregnancy, but those chances are low, but with IVF the chances of multiple pregnancy are high.